Fire and Ice: JESSMO speaks on the bringing warmth to dance-pop

Balance is key, right? Strobing, synthetic sounds that beat to a syncopated pulse tend to orbit around a cold space – and that works just fine. But in the arena of synthpop, what makes it ‘pop’ at all is the human element, that soul-bestowing, heart-swaying agent that gives the output its resonant relatable emotional power. This intersection is where 24-year-old homegrown singer-producer JESSMO thrives. In the course of her three singles, including the nocturnal “Come With Me” , she’s brought her husky, dramatic coo to bear on kaleidoscopic sonics with a kinetic thrust. Now, she’s added to the trove with another, “Fyre” , her most realised and dare we say, intimate, yet. Below, she takes us through it. What drew you to production? I started off as a singer-songwriter but my love for electronic music grew massively over the years and I got into production. I also realised w...